Organic matter contributes significantly to the waste stream. There are potential adverse environmental, social and economic impacts associated with poor management and disposal of organic waste, including:

•contamination of waterways

•odour impacts from sites

•contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Although organic waste is often seen as a naturally produced waste, when disposed to landfill it breaks down anaerobically releasing methane, a greenhouse gas with a Global Warming Potential between 28 and 36 times that of carbon dioxide.

Organic materials are a valuable resource that can be used for a variety of purposes, including:

•in the production of animal feed, compost and soil improvers

•as a feedstock for the biomanufacturing and biotechnologies sectors to create bioproducts, bioenergy and biofuels.

Improving the management of organic waste provides multiple opportunities and benefits with social, economic and environmental outcomes.

With more than one in five Australians experiencing food insecurity in 2018–19, there is an urgent need to improve and increase the diversion of edible food to people in need. Since COVID-19 began, food rescue organisations have reported a significant increase in requests for support. The Queensland Government has recently provided over $900,000 to six organisations through the Food Rescue Grant Program. This will help to rescue the equivalent of 3.3 million meals over the lifetime of the program.

An estimated 50 percent of an average household’s general waste bin is made up of organic material. While the majority is garden organics, the food waste has a reported annual value of between $2,200 and $3,800 per household, per year. Food waste is avoidable and can reduce costs for households.

The indirect costs associated with organic waste include the loss of the resources used to create it, farming efforts, production costs (land, water, nutrients, energy, fuel), transportation and supply.

The Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA) released The Economic Contribution of the Australian Organics Recycling Industry in March 2020 . It identified that in 2018–19, the Australian organics recycling industry created over 4,800 direct jobs with one job being supported for every 1,550 tonnes of organic material that was recycled. It also found that the organic recycling industry contributed $724 million in industry value add to the Australian economy.

During 2018–19, Queensland recycled 1.18 million tonnes of organic material , thereby helping to support over 760 Queensland jobs.

The size of the problem

Organic material is one of the main waste categories sent to landfill across Australia.

In 2016–17, Australia generated significant volumes of organic waste, with almost a quarter being food waste.

		Waste	Disposed	Disposed
		generated	to landfill	to landfill
		(Tonnes)	(Tonnes)	(Percent)
	All organic	30 million	6.7 million	22 %
	waste
	Food waste	7.3 million	5.5 million	75 %

Agricultural organic waste such as livestock manure and bagasse are managed onsite and used as a resource to improve soil nutrients and health. Similarly, food waste could be reused in line with the waste and resource management hierarchy to deliver significant social, economic and environmental benefits.

Of the 7.3 million tonnes of food waste generated nationally in 2016–17, approximately 1.8 million tonnes were generated in Queensland, with one third coming from households.

Organic waste

Organic waste is a broad category of waste derived from material that was once living, excluding petroleum-based materials. This includes food (domestic and commercial), garden, biosolids, food processing wastes and agricultural by-products.

Within the organic waste stream, ‘core organic’ wastes are often disposed to landfill, with ‘non-core’ wastes often being a by-product of another process. These can be sustainably managed and used on-site, including in agricultural systems.

In the National Waste Report 2018, the data recorded for organic waste covers:

•core organic waste—domestic and commercial food wastes, garden organics and timber

•non-core organic agriculture waste—including manure, sugarcane bagasse, cotton gin trash

•non-core organic fisheries waste—including bycatch, offal, shells

•organic wastes reported within the hazardous waste material category—biosolids, grease trap sludge and waste from abattoirs and tanneries.

While the draft Strategy focuses on the identified ‘core’ organic waste sectors, the work that is being done by the agricultural sector to use organic material in value add products and processes is recognised and supported.

Food waste

Food waste is an important component of the organic waste stream and targets have been set specifically to address it.

The National Food Waste Strategy adopts a broad and inclusive definition of ‘food waste’ that covers:

•solid or liquid food that is intended for human consumption and is generated across the entire supply and consumption chain

•food that does not reach the consumer or reaches the consumer but is thrown away. This includes edible food, the parts of the food that can be consumed but are disposed of, and inedible food, the parts of food that are not consumed because they are either unable to be consumed or are considered undesirable (such as seeds, bones, coffee grounds, skins, or peels)

•food that is imported into, and disposed of, in Australia

•food that is produced or manufactured for export but does not leave Australia.

This definition excludes food that is produced or manufactured in Australia which is exported and becomes waste in another country. It also acknowledges that there are opportunities across the entire fresh and processed food systems to achieve improved environmental, economic and social outcomes.

The loss of edible food and inedible food parts at the point of retail or consumer use is typically considered ‘food waste’. Food that is lost along the production and supply chain before reaching the retail stage is generally referred to as ‘food loss’.

To align with the broader definition in the National Food Waste Strategy ‘food waste’ is used as a collective term in the draft Strategy, however the actions have been prioritised to address food waste generated from retail businesses through to households. This waste is often avoidable, generates emissions, water and cost impacts from across the entire supply chain, and is currently disposed to landfill in Queensland.

Our vision—Achieving social, economic and environmental benefits by harnessing the value from organic materials to the greatest possible extent.

The Waste Strategy has a vision for Queensland to become a zero-waste society by transitioning to the principles that underpin a circular economy where the value of waste is retained in the economy for as long as possible.

The improved management of organic waste is a priority action area due to the significant contribution of organic waste to the waste stream, and the social, economic and environmental benefits from improved management.

The draft Strategy sets the framework for managing organic materials in Queensland and identifies actions, supports the transition to a circular economy, and builds economic opportunity through providing policy and investment certainty to industry.

The Queensland Government is committed to driving the significant changes for this valuable resource in Queensland.

Goal—To reduce organic waste disposed to landfill, create jobs and promote management of organic material in line with the waste and resource recovery hierarchy.

The draft Strategy supports the transformation of organic material into higher order, value-add products and the growth of the organics recycling industry in Queensland.

The draft Strategy identifies priority actions from avoidance through to improved end-use management. The actions support the Queensland Government’s national commitments to implement the National Food Waste Strategy target to halve food waste by 2030 and implement actions in the National Waste Policy Action Plan to halve the amount of organic waste going to landfill by 2030.

Objectives of taking action will:

•reduce organic material disposed to landfill and the greenhouse gas emissions this generates

•improve soil structure and health, promoting food production and food nutrient quality

•reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers and improve water quality and aquatic environments

•support agricultural exports to meet future carbon border adjustment mechanisms

•increase organic processing capacity and produce high- value end-use products and markets

•reduce organic waste generation, food loss, food waste and associated resource losses in food production and transport to consumers

•build economic opportunity, infrastructure, investment and employment through end-use product and market development and services for organic recycling

•reduce costs for businesses and households through improved organics material management, consumption and recycling

•improve food security through increased and effective redistribution of food to Queenslanders in need.

STRATEGIC

PRIORITY

1

STRATEGIC

PRIORITY

2

STRATEGIC

PRIORITY

3

Reduce the impact of waste on the environment and communities

By ensuring organic waste is avoided and reused to the greatest potential reduces disposal to landfill and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. A healthy environment supports our economy and contributes to our general health and wellbeing, now and for future generations.

Transition to a circular economy for waste

Transitioning to a circular economy encourages the community, business and industry to manage organic material in order to retain its value in the economy for as long as possible, ultimately transitioning to a zero-waste society. Value can be gained from material otherwise destined for landfill where there are increased options for avoidance, reuse, recycling and recovery of resources.

Build economic opportunity

Organic materials provide opportunity to identify new and higher-value products and commercial opportunities for Queensland businesses and industry. The organic resource recovery sector is an important contributor to the Queensland economy already. However, there is further potential to grow this and other sectors to ensure Queensland becomes competitive for organic processing and develops viable markets. Building economic opportunity creates new jobs, provides upskilling opportunities for the workforce, builds infrastructure capacity and markets in regional areas, and contributes to sustainable and long-term growth in Queensland.

Actions that avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle materials align with the circular economy approach to prevent, capture and use waste at its highest value. A circular economy is based on the principals of designing out waste, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

Globally, governments and businesses are moving towards a circular economy model. Adopting circular economy principles presents opportunities for industry and government to alter the way a substantive part of the economy operates, while creating jobs, growth and improved environmental sustainability.

Shifting away from the linear ‘take-make-use-dispose’ model will deliver benefits through reduced waste and improved resource efficiency, create new economies and build long-term market, environmental and economic resilience.

Action

< 2	3–5	5+
years	years	years

Support research and education which drives behaviour change to promote waste avoidance.

Action

		Support food rescue to increase high quality food redistribution to Queenslanders in need.
2.01		•	Support food rescue organisations to increase high quality food redistribution to Queenslanders in
			need, building on the findings of the Queensland Government Food Rescue Grant Program ($905,622).
		•	Encourage commercial retailers to divert edible food to Queenslanders in need.

	Increase organics services at public events in Queensland.
2.02	• Queensland Government and local government to promote avoidance messaging and support
	the adoption of segregated food waste collection systems at government sponsored and local

government events.

Encourage fit-for-purpose household and commercial food organic and garden organic collection systems.

•Share the findings from the Queensland Government funded ($770,000) Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) 2021–22 trials in Townsville, Rockhampton and Lockyer Valley local government areas.

•Investigate suitable options using tools such as the Queensland Government’s Resource and Waste Collection Options Tool.

2.03• Promote locally grown food which connect producers and consumers, for example through co- operatives, farmers markets and community gardens

•Encourage home-based approaches for organic waste processing, including composting, worm farms, bokashi composting systems, etc.

•Continue to work with local governments to understand the feasibility of kerbside organics services.

•Investigate support for local composting hubs.

Commercial businesses to explore options to divert organic material from landfill.

•Identify opportunities for source separation and collection of organic waste.

2.04• Facilitate onsite organic waste processing.

•Investigate packaging options that reduce the potential for plastics contamination in the organics stream.

Queensland Government, local governments and industry to support integrated infrastructure solutions.

•Co-locate organics recovery with other industries such as food processing or agriculture to combine recovery with the co-processing of other putrescible organics, to produce higher-value products.

2.05• Investigate distributed infrastructure solutions, including mobile infrastructure to suit location and feedstock composition.

•Encourage investment in new or expanded processing facilities that are suited to the location based on considerations around feedstock and proximity to markets and sensitive receiving environments.

Increase organics processing capacity in Queensland.

•Support the bioenergy and biochemical industries to increase their processing capacity in Queensland, including for putrescible organic waste streams, while ensuring environmental and social impacts are mitigated appropriately.

2.06• Support a strategic increase in Queensland’s processing capacity for putrescible organic waste streams through new and upgraded infrastructure.

•Local governments collaborate to create economies of scale and meet multiple infrastructure needs.

•Local governments review planning instruments against regional waste management and infrastructure plans to ensure that they support solutions that help increase their region’s current and future capacity to process organic waste.

< 2		3–5	5+
years		years		years

Action

3.01

< 2	3–5	5+
years	years	years

Undertake research and analysis to understand and identify solutions to reduce food loss and food waste.

•Support the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre in:

▸whole-of-supply chain mapping projects and prioritising food waste hotspots

▸transforming new commercial opportunities from food and agricultural waste streams

▸encouraging small-to-medium (SME) enterprises within the agri-food sector to apply to the Fight Food Waste SME Solutions Centre for research funding to address their food waste challenges.

•Support trial projects which reduce food loss and waste throughout the supply chain across different materials and sectors.

•Explore the role that retail and hospitality produce specifications have on the generation of food waste.

Data, regulation and enforcement

Clear policy direction and legislative frameworks with reasonable regulation and enforcement will be required to provide certainty, and consistency for industries to promote investment in Queensland. Effective, accessible data and regional waste management and infrastructure planning will assist in identifying opportunities for regional specific needs for organics recycling markets and products.

A transparent and educational approach delivered through collaborative working relationships seek to:

•provide appropriate land planning and environmental regulations suitable for organics recycling activities

•encourage best practice processes

•improve processing technologies

•align infrastructure and regulation that supports and delivers fit-for-purpose products.

Action

4.01

< 2	3–5	5+
years	years	years

Utilise legislative instruments such as bans to support the draft Strategy.

•Queensland Government to:

▸implement a staged landfill disposal ban on organic waste streams, subject to an options analysis and feasibility study

▸continue to implement bans on single-use plastic items to reduce potential contamination of food organics streams and encourage use of Australian Standards certified compostable alternatives (where appropriate), provide certainty to the organic waste industry and reduce contamination in organic waste processing.

4.02

4.03

Review existing policy and regulatory frameworks to support the draft Strategy.

•Queensland Government to review the Environmentally Relevant Activity framework and End of Waste Code frameworks to:

▸provide for emerging processing technology

▸provide clear guidance for the expansion of organic waste collection services in Queensland

▸support the expansion of products and markets arising from increased recovery and recycling of organic waste streams.

•Queensland Government to review the policy and regulatory framework to facilitate the development of bioenergy and biochemical processing.

Review data collection and reporting processes, requirements, standards and guidelines.

•Align data collection and reporting systems across state and local governments to national classifications and definitions to improve sharing of information.

•Support the national consideration of updated national standards and specifications for organic waste products to improve industry and customer certainty.

•Develop and implement a best practice environmental management guideline for composting.

•Support review of the Australian Standard for Composting (AS4454) to ensure thresholds and contaminant testing is current and helps improve processing to provide fit-for-purpose outputs.

•Develop and implement updated model operating conditions for composting to ensure transparency and consistency for industry.

•Develop and implement a monitoring, evaluation and reporting process to assess the Organics Strategy, its implementation and progress towards targets.

The Fight Food Waste CRC aims to unite science and industry to:

•reduce food waste throughout the supply chain

•transform unavoidable waste into innovative products

•engage with industry and consumers to deliver behavioural change.

Target for 2030

By halving organic waste to landfill, 2.7 million tonnes less organic waste would go to landfill every year in Australia.

Further national action being undertaken to specifically address food waste includes:

•release of the national food waste baseline to monitor and track progress toward the national target

•the national food waste baseline set for Australia at 7.3 million tonnes of food waste generated annually across all sectors

•the establishment of Stop Food Waste Australia

•development of the Australian Food Pact voluntary agreement for industry

•diverting more food to the food rescue sector

•support for education campaigns

•research and technological improvements to improve agricultural efficiency and innovation, waste treatment infrastructure, and ways to create value from food waste.

Strategy 12 of the 2018 National Waste Policy signals the need to reduce organic waste, including garden and food waste, by avoiding their generation and supporting diversion away from landfill into soils and other uses, supported by appropriate infrastructure.

The National Waste Policy was supported by the National Waste Policy Action Plan 2019 which set national targets, including to:

•reduce total waste generated in Australia by 10% per person by 2030

•achieve an 80% average resource recovery rate by 2030 from all waste streams following the waste hierarchy

•significantly increase the use of recycled content by government and industry

•halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030

•make comprehensive, economy-wide and timely data publicly available to support better consumer, investment and policy decisions.

The National Waste Report 2020 identified a 2% reduction in the estimated organics waste disposed to landfill across Australia in 2018–19, compared to the 2016–17 figures.

The National Soil Strategy sets how Australia will value, manage and improve its soil for the next 20 years. Actions from this strategy will ensure that soil continues to contribute to agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. A $67 million Food Waste for Healthy Soil Fund was established by the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment to support the diversion of household and commercial food organics (FO) and garden organics (FOGO) from landfill to soil via the expansion of existing FOGO processing infrastructure and capacity.

Research, development and education

Queensland Resource Recovery Industries

Queensland’s zero net emissions future

Providing seed funding to the Centre for Recycling of Organic Waste and Nutrients (CROWN) to promote research, training and extension capabilities in segregating, collecting, processing and using organic waste materials and imbedded nutrients.

•Supporting the Centre for Organic Research and Education (CORE) to

▸develop the Guidelines for Establishing and Operating an Urban Agriculture Enterprise in Queensland

▸deliver the annual International Compost Awareness Week and National Organics Week campaigns since 2015.

•Supporting partnerships in the delivery of commercial food and organic waste collection and composting trials with the City of Gold Coast and Clubs Queensland.

•Partnering with the FFWCRC, to support:

▸projects such as the SME Solutions Centre, which provides access to funding, skills and expertise to find the best food waste solutions for small-to-medium sized enterprises

▸the design of effective interventions to reduce household food waste.

•Supporting the move to a circular economy through the development of the Queensland Resource Recovery Industries 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan which sets a framework to accelerate this transition and develop Queensland’s resource recovery industries.

•Resource Recovery Industry Development Program to fund projects and initiatives that divert waste from landfill, reduce stockpiling and create jobs.

The Queensland Government has already supported actions to reduce the generation of organic waste and divert organic material from landfill, as follows.

•The Queensland Government has set climate targets to reduce emissions and create jobs:

▸achieving zero net emissions by 2050

▸an interim target to reduce emissions by at least 30% below 2005 levels by 2030

▸50% of Queensland's energy generation coming from renewable sources by 2030.

•The Queensland Government’s Climate Action Plan and Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy will ensure Queensland meets its targets and is ready to harness the opportunities and manage the risks from a changing climate.

•Funding to date has supported sectoral and regional initiatives that help to reduce emissions and value organic resources, including innovative circular economy initiatives.

•Examples include providing seed funding for the Australian first Circular Economy Lab, the $1.9 million Communities in Transition Pilot Program, and our partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to support small and medium enterprises.

Agriculture and food industry development

Releasing a future focused Agribusiness and Food Strategy which:

▸positions the agribusiness and food sector to emerge from COVID-19 and establish a strong foundation for the future

▸anticipates future change in the way we grow, produce, harvest, distribute and consume food, fibre, fuel, and other primary products. The strategy identifies opportunities to boost productivity, develop new value-added and globally competitive products for expanding markets, support rural communities, and jobs within the regions and businesses across the value chain.

•Releasing the Queensland Agriculture and Food Research, Development and Extension 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan (RD&E Action Plan) which includes:

▸setting the vision for Queensland’s internationally recognised agriculture and food research, development and extension to underpin a productive, profitable and sustainable sector

▸supporting the existing sector to grow and develop new business, the RD&E Action Plan highlights the importance of exploring research, development and extension opportunities related to agriculture and food waste minimisation and utilisation

▸the Queensland Government undertaking research and development, commercialisation and investment attraction in digital technologies and management systems. This is to retain quality and minimise waste, including remote sensing, blockchain, packaging, storage, and innovative processing methods and novel products that use timber and agricultural by-products

▸value-adding opportunities for agricultural and food by-products, waste and surplus production due to it continuing to be a major focus for Queensland to grow the value of the sector.

•Releasing the Queensland Biofutures 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan, which includes:

▸setting the pathway to establish Queensland as a world leading sustainable biomanufacturing and biotechnology region

▸the Queensland Government working with research institutions and across sectors, including the agriculture and waste industries, to develop a strong biofutures sector to attract international investment and create regional, high-value and knowledge-intensive jobs

▸the $5 million Queensland Waste to Biofutures Fund that provides support for the development of Queensland-based pilot and demonstration or commercially scalable projects that use conventional waste streams or biomass to produce bioenergy, biofuels and high value bioproducts.

Glossary

Bagasse—fibrous waste remaining when sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract juice.

Biosolids—organic solids derived from biological wastewater treatment processes that are in a state where they can be used as nutrients and soil conditioning agents, as a source of energy or for some other use. Sewage treatment plants are the main source of biosolids in Queensland.

Circular economy—an alternative to the traditional ‘linear’ economy based on the 'take-make-use-dispose system', in which products and materials keep circulating within the economy at their highest value for as long as possible, through reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, delivering products as services and sharing.

Commercial and industrial waste (C&I)—produced by business and commerce, and includes waste from schools, restaurants, offices, retail and wholesale businesses, and manufacturing industries.

Construction and demolition waste (C&D)—includes waste generated from building, repairing, altering or demolishing infrastructure for roads, bridges, tunnels, sewerage, water, electricity, telecommunications, airports, docks or rail.

Compost—a product created by the breakdown of organic matter by bacteria and other mico-organisms into a nutrient-rich natural fertiliser.

Compost hub—a central location where community members can compost their waste, for example, a community garden.

Compostable products—products that meet Australian Standard 4736 or Australian Standard 5810, or products made entirely out of materials that will disintegrate into natural elements within a commercial composting environment.

Contamination—any material found in a bin that is not accepted by an organic processing facility.

Core waste—waste generally managed by the waste and resource recovery sector, comprising solid non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste including liquids. It is generated in the municipal, construction and demolition, and commercial and industrial sectors, and includes biosolids but generally excludes primary production .

Cotton gin trash—a by-product created in the cotton ginning process.

Disposal—the process of getting rid of waste by landfilling or incineration without energy recovery. It is the least acceptable option under the waste management and resource recovery hierarchy.

Energy recovery—involves the conversion of waste materials into useable heat, electricity or fuel through processes such as combustion, gasification, pyrolisation and anaerobic digestion.

FO—food organics collection.

Food hub—food producers or another organisation which aggregates, distributes and markets food products directly to the consumer.

FOGO—food organics and garden organics collection.

Garden waste—includes grass clippings, tree, bush and shrub trimmings, branches and other similar material resulting from domestic or commercial gardening, landscaping or maintenance activities.

GO—garden organics collection.

Kerbside collection—the collection of household waste left at the kerbside for collection by local government collection services.

Municipal solid waste (MSW)—waste generated by households and waste collected by or for a local government. It includes waste generated from street sweeping, public rubbish bins, maintaining a public place and collection of large items from domestic premises by a kerbside collection service.

Organic processing—involves the recovery of putrescible wastes through activities such as anaerobic digestion, mulching, composting or vermiculture.

Putrescible—solid waste which contains organic matter capable of being decomposed by micro-organisms.

Recycling—is the process of extracting materials found in waste and converting them into useful products.

Recovered material—waste that has been diverted from landfill, including material that has been recycled, reprocessed or stockpiled for future use.

Recovery rate—the proportion of a waste stream that is recovered.

	Advisian	Enviroland
	AECOM	Environmental Science Matters
	Airborn insight	Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research
	Arup	Centre
		GAASTA
	Australian Organics Recycling
		GHD
	Association (AORA)
	Banana Shire Council	Gladstone Regional Council
	Barcaldine Regional Council	Global Commodity Centre Pty Ltd
	BeneTerra	Golder Associates
	BioBowser Renewable Technologies	Griffith University
	BMI Group	Gympie Regional Council
	Brisbane City Council	Hinchinbrook Shire Council
	Bundaberg Regional Council	Infrabuild Recycling
	Cairns Regional Council	Ipswich City Council
	Candy Soil	Isaac Regional Council
	Cassowary Coast Regional Council	JJ's Waste & Recycling
	Central Highlands Regional Council	Kriaris Recyclables
	Circular Beginnings/CQG Consulting	Livingstone Shire Council
	Circular Economy Pioneers	LMS Energy
	City of Gold Coast	Local Government Association of
	Cleanaway	Queensland
		Lockyer Valley Regional Council
	Cleanaway Daniels Yatala Medical Waste
		Mackay Regional Council
	Services
	Closed Loop	MAMS Group
	Container Exchange (COEX)	Mandalay Technologies
	Cook Shire Council	Mareeba Shire Council
	CQG Consulting	Moreton Bay Regional Council
	CROWN University of Queensland	MRA Consulting
	Curtin University	MRA Environmental Gold Coast
	EDL	Noosa Shire Council
	EnviroCom Australia	North Burnett Regional Council

NuGrow

OzHarvest

Peak Services

Phoenix

Queensland Water Directorate RDT/ReGroup

Redland City Council

Remondis Australia Pty Ltd

Resource Innovations Pty Ltd

ResourceHub

Rockhampton Regional Council

Scenic Rim Regional Council

Short Environmental Pty Ltd

Sims Metal Management Pty Ltd

SLR Consulting

SMEC

SOILCO Pty Ltd

SoilCyclers Pty Ltd

Somerset Regional Council

Tablelands Regional Council

Toowoomba Regional Council

Townsville City Council

United Waste Services

Veolia

Waste Recycling Industry Queensland (WRIQ)

WestRex

Whitsunday Regional Council Woodmulching Industries